Cleaning > LaundryAugust 19, 2009

Clean Lint Trap To Improve Dryer Efficiency

Here's a tip I got from my repairman when he came to do the yearly maintenance on my clothes dryer. He said to take the lint screen out of the dryer and get all the lint off of it. Then take it to the sink and run water over it. Most likely the water will bead up on it. If it does, then do the following: squirt some dish soap on it (Dawn is best for this). Then take a scrub brush and wet it and scrub the screen all over on both sides. Rinse well, dry and put back in the dryer.

He said to do this about once a month, but I usually do it once a week. It only takes a couple of minutes to do, but it will prolong the life of your dryer by years. Plus it'll save on your electric bill because it won't take so long to dry things.

I've been doing this for 2 years now and my 12 year old dryer is running like a new one!

By Cricketnc from Parkton, NC

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By
09/29/2009

I always remove the lint from the filter after every dryer load. However, this seemed like a good tip for additional cleaning and I finally tried it. After a gentle scrubbing with foam soap and brush, the regular removal of lint is much faster, easier, and more thorough. This was a super tip, thanks!

By
08/21/2009

At least once a year you should take the time to inspect where the air from your dryer blows out of. Ours happens to be on top of the house, so we get on top of the roof to remove any lint that has accumulated. My boyfriend got rid of a perfectly good dryer because he failed to check the lint trap as well as the air exit point. The new dryer wouldn't dry the clothes, so I asked him where the air from the dryer comes out. I myself went up and pulled out massive amounts of lint. A fire waiting to happen! Not to mention the purchase of a new dryer that wasn't really needed. The old one just had a hard time breathing LOL

By
08/20/2009

It is just common sense to do this, if you let the lint build up, it can cause a fire.

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Cleaning a Dirty Dryer Lint Tray

A build up of residue especially from fabric sheets is hard to remove from the screen of you lint tray for your dryer. I found a bleach stick at the dollar store and squirted the gel on the screen. The tube of get comes with a plastic brush. Rub the gel over the whole screen to break down the grime. Use the brush to rub off the residue. Rinse well. Dry.

By Tuna from Billings, MT

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Shared on: 09/17/2011

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Does your clothes dryer take longer than it should to dry your clothes when set on auto-dry? Ours would be running when we got up in the morning.


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